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What does one do having reached the top of a volcano? Walk around the crator I guess - so that's just what did. It was pretty treacherous going. The rim was very narrow in places, with a drop on either side that could easily be classed as lethal...

Japanese Tales: Solo Volcano Night Climb

Joseph Tame
2006-06-30 11:56:09

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Thursday 1st August 2002 - 20:35(GMT+9) Niseko, Japan

I was hoping to give the August edition of The Daily Mumble a kick start, with a great story of a victorious expedition to the peak of the island of Hokkaido. Funny how things never quite go to plan...

Yotei San (Mt. Yotei) stands tall and proud in the south-western corner of Hokkaido, begging to be climbed. With but four weeks left in Japan, yesterday I decided that the time had come to conquer it's lofty heights.

My boss told me that most people climb 9/10ths of the way up in the early evening (usually setting out at 7pm), sleep in the mountain hut from 11pm to 3am, and then get up in order to reach the summit for the 4am sunrise.

So it was that a little later than scheduled (10.30pm) I set out, alone, with a small torch (flashlight), plenty of chocolate and three litres of bottled water.

I've never been so scared in my life! With most of Yotei San being coated in a dense forest, there was no natural light. It was very quiet too, except for the constant breaking of twigs by the monsters that were ceaselessly creeping up on me from all directions. At one point I got very scared and tried to phone my girlfriend for comfort and reassurance - alas! There was no signal!

The path that I took must have been marked out many years ago, before the invention of the zigzag. It was so steep, and literally followed a straight course from the bottom to the top. After two-and-a-half hours of non-stop climbing, I finally broke out into the open scrubland. Boy was I glad to have survived the forest - perhaps the monsters were put off eating me by the stink of the sweat that had been gushing from my every pore.

It was 1.15am when I reached the mountain hut. Having checked in and payed my ¥800, I stripped off my sodden clothes and settled down to grab 90 ...